I'm going to try and do a cosplay from iDOLM@STER, and I'm having trouble figuring out how to pattern part of the outfit.

It's the dress in this video- the skirt portion of the dress/bodice (not the actual skirt, the ruffly part that's attached to the top. http://youtu.be/268oMu_A5kM

I'm trying to figure out how to shape the ruffles, either with some kind of wire or maybe even horsehair braid? But I've had bad experiences with wire and only have a vague idea of how well horsehair works. My roommate suggested a circle skirt that's longer on the sides and shorter in the front/back, and I feel like that would work as a starting point, but I don't know how to add that extra poof to the hem.